Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Is there a more fun and hard-to-pin-down label than Studio Barnhus? The plaything of Swedish artists Kornel Kovacs, Axel Boman and their mate Petter Nordkvist it has done it all from trancehall to bubblegum house via pop edits and plenty in between. Now they look to Stockholm boys Ari Bald & CJ Scott once more for a new EP that bangs hard and has a great sense of character, much like their label debut here last year. All four of these house cuts are full-flavoured slammers with heartfelt vocal samples and lovely naive melodies that really make their mark.

Review: Florin Buchel's work as Contra Communem Opinionem has bridged the gap between seemingly disparate labels like Lux Rec, Mathematics, Drumpoet Community and Photic Fields without missing a beat. More recently, he's funnelled the CCO output through his own label Silum to bring us some EPs of dazzling hardware tech house with ample melodic content to keep the dark clouds at bay. 'Atmospheric Inversion' toys with jazzy discord, but the vibe is primarily soulful and synth-driven, while 'Atmospheric Extinction' heads wholeheartedly towards uplifting chord sequences to get your hair standing on end. 'Atmospheric Pressure' takes a snappier, techier approach but the tools and signal chains are the same, so the pervading warmth of the tracks maintains. This is house music which instinctively connects back to the gritty strain of machine soul pioneered in Detroit - if you're always searching for that quality in your club tracks you won't want to overlook this one.

Review: New Jersey house don Kerri Chandler is rightfully lauded as a hero of the scene. He continues to pour his heart and soul into every record and imbue his music with real-world emotions that elevate his tunes. He is of course a master of a deep but driving sound that borrows from soul, funk and jazz in ignitible ways. The third volume of his Lost & Found EP series on his own label Kaoz Theory is packed with more gold, from the slinky depths of 'Let It (Give Me Back My Love)' to the soul staring vocal work of 'Another Dawn' via more paired back sounds on 'The Bassline' (Kerri Dark mix) and the percussive energy of 'The Breeze.' Yet another essential Kerri 12" for your collection.

Review: Sweat It Out Records kicks off their tasty Sweat Sampler series with their first volume, cutting niftily across four exceptionally sweaty bops, spanning tongue-in-cheek deep tech reworks and downtempo disco delights. First off is the dream team of Cid and Havoc & Lawn, whom together deliver a hilariously effective house version of America's 'A Horse With No Name'; this is shortly followed by Saturday Love, Kon and Furious's 'Come Out', a rejigged nu-disco samosa packed with some rare vocal spices; then there's 'Give It To Me' by Marco Lys and Ben Miller, a bass-driven bouncer unafraid of lasershot winddowns, injunctive vocals and risers; and finally, there's Set Mo's 'Could I Be', the anthem of the bunch, whose buildup and drop is alarming, affecting, cumulatively awe-striking.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Robert Owens is absolutely one of the voices of his generation. He has lent his tender tones to more classic tracks than you could possibly mention and he continues to do so nowadays with a wholeness generation of producer who want a touch go his authenticity. He has recently achieved another career milestone with a superbly poignant new single that comes with sublime remixes. DJ Spinna's re-flip adds his usual sense of soul and Adeen Records label head Camille then brings some South African Amapiano vibes. Nico Lahs takes it on with a heavy house groove and Scott Hess brings some classic acid jack to his version.

Review: French outfit Chateau Flight have spent two years in the studio making music, playing around and experimenting and now the fruits of that work are presented on this new album La Folie Studio. It is full of the sound of analogue machines conversing and the artists themselves speaking through their darkened basslines or eerie pads. Occult worlds are crafted, ambient soundscapes are cooked up and leftfield cosmic explorations occur throughout a journeying album full of a wide range of emotions. This lovely record features guests on the odd track such as Johnny Nash on guitar, Cosmic Neman mumbling on 'Mange', John Cravache playing 'his special organ" and Bony Bikaye singing on 'Esika Molimo Ezali'. It's an occult world of left of centre sound that will keep you coming back for more.